Blood in the cot...

My little girl (16 months) is feeling really poorly, she is really snotty and has a horrendous cough. She's had a high temp - but nothing worrying. She's really not feeling herself.

She woke up tonight at around 2.15 so I went in and fed her to try and get her back to sleep as I usually do. Unfortunately she wouldn't settle, and asked to come out of the cot again - but (as an added complication) I had to go throw-up because I've caught this horrid sickness bug. My husband came in to settle her, but she wouldn't settle. When I (finally) stopped being sick and came back I noticed a dark patch in the cot where her head had been. I turned the light on to find a patch of bright red blood. Now, it could be that she's cut her cheek - as we've both noticed her grinding her teeth and biting her cheeks. Or has she thrown up blood? There wasn't any mucus type stuff with it to indicate she's been sick. Or has she burst a blood vessel in her throat with all the coughing?? She had a small amount of blood in her dribble yesterday.

Due to my sickness bug she is going to her Nana's house tomorrow to be looked after, but I'm worried this is serious and that I need to take her to the doctors. Not sure if I can manage a trip to the doctors in this sicky state (and not sure they'd want me there much either), and Nana can't take her as refuses to drive with her and lives in a different town.

This would be so much simpler if I wasn't feeling so bloody miserable myself. What would you do????

Agree NHS Direct or (as they tend to go on a script) perhaps call GPs and get a callback from a doctor. It does sounds like blood that perhaps has come out in her drool, but you don't really want to risk it and it sounds like quite a bit has come out.

I would imagine coughed blood to be in more of a random spray pattern than a pool, and presumably that would be the more worrying. I've been told by doctors that blood in nose mucus happens because they burst blood vessels there, so I guess your theory of it being in her throat is also possible.

Most likely a nose bleed although obviously difficult to commit without seeing a child.

If she has no bruising or rash that don't fade with pressure, no blood in urine or stools and isn't jaundiced I'd probably wait and see. You should probably get her reviewed if it happens again (taking bedding or sheet with blood helps give doctors an idea of amounts - it's usually always much less than you think), then it's a toss up as to whether they would check her platelets, clotting, liver function etc. although it's still more likely to be a mild nose bleed than anything else.